Monthly Archive:

  First, what is it?  Insulin is produced in the pancreas and is responsible for regulating delivery of glucose (sugar) into cells to provide them with the material to create energy.  In insulin resistance the normal receptors on the cell walls that “open up” the cell to let in the sugar do not work.  Consequently the pancreas pumps out more insulin to force the cells to open to the sugar.  This leads to high levels of both insulin and sugar...

Studies are published about cancer and its causes all the time.  What one must do is evaluate the study for validity.  The most recent study published on the potential link between omega 3 fatty acids (fish oil) and prostate cancer suggests that higher levels of these fatty acids raise the risk for prostate cancer.  Unfortunately, the media grabbed the headlines and drew conclusions that were erroneous. Why?  Well, the study used data from a previous research project that had different...

  How would you like to be better at problem solving, learning a new language, increasing your ability to focus, regaining body function due to a stroke, or recapturing some lost brain function from a brain trauma such as an auto accident? Your brain is capable of all of these things.  The process is called neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity refers to your brain’s potential to reorganize to better meet current needs – to adapt – through creating new pathways that allow it...

  Dr. Mary Ackerley, a Harvard and Johns Hopkins trained board certified psychiatrist, explains:  “Anti-depressants act as a safety net that provide initial relief and management of symptoms.  They recirculate neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine that are required for mood regulation and hormonal function. The downside is that these drugs are only able to work with neurotransmitters that we currently have in our systems. Additionally, “Sadly these drugs actually exhaust and deplete neurotransmitters. Anti-depressants stimulate the circulation of available neurotransmitters...

  Dr. Robert DiSilvestro of the Ohio State University reports on a study published in the Journal of Functional Foods that  in research with healthy, middle-aged adults, consumption of one apple a day for four weeks lowered by 40 percent blood levels of a substance linked to hardening of the arteries.  Apples lower blood levels of the “bad” cholesterol which plays a central role in inflammation and damage to the lining of our arteries which leads to “hardening of the...

The Institute of Functional Medicine explains that “It is an evolution in the practice of medicine… shifting the traditional disease-centered focus of medical practice to a more patient-centered approach, addressing theh whole person, not just an isolated set of symptoms. Functional medicine practitioners spend time with their patients, listening to their histories and looking at the interactions among genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors that can influence long-term health and complex, chronic disease.” How is Functional Medicine different?  Functional Medicine investigates the...

A study published in the journal Neurology, described in HealthDay, explains the amazing finding that “one-third of people die in old age with little or no signs of problems with thinking, learning or memory, yet when brain autopsies are done, they actually have clear evidence of Alzheimer’s disease” -Robert S. Wilson, Ph.D., professor, neurological sciences and behavioral sciences, Rush University Medical Center)”They [technically] have the disease, but it’s not expressed clinically.” How does doing intellectually challenging activities save your brain...

First, how can ibuprofen help us?  Classed as a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), it inhibits your body’s production of chemicals called prostaglandins which play a role in the production of pain, fever and inflammation.  So, it is most helpful to relieve the pain of arthritis, mild to moderate aches and pains  (including menstrual pain) such as muscle aches, headaches, toothaches and backaches. It also is used to reduce fevers.  What a wonderfully helpful medication. How can it harm us?  The National...

Mary Ackerley, MD, explains that “studies have suggested that magnesium is inversely related to hypertension, which is a risk factor for stroke.” Research has demonstrated that “for every increase in magnesium intake of 100 mg per day total stroke risk was reduced by 8 percent.  In addition American’s with levels below the RDA are more likely to have an elevated C Reactive Protein (CRP), which also contributes to cardiovascular risk.  Studies have shown a clear correlation between magnesium intake and...